Beyond food: contributions of a community kitchen and a community garden to the well-being of the Francophone and Francophile community of St. John's, Newfoundland

Bernard, Karine
(2018)
Beyond food: contributions of a community kitchen and a community garden to the well-being of the Francophone and Francophile community of St. John's, Newfoundland.
Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English; also: French]
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Abstract

This case study examines the impact of a community kitchen and a community
garden developed by the Association communautaire francophone de Saint-Jean (ACFSJ)
on Francophones and Francophiles living in St. John’s. The purpose of the study is to
gain an understanding of the potential roles these activities play among Francophone and
Francophile minority communities. The study used document consultation, participant
observation, and in-depth interviews with 24 study participants.
Findings indicate that the community kitchen and the community garden provide
numerous benefits at the individual and community level. The activities foster much more
than knowledge, skills, and a healthy lifestyle. They become vehicles for cultural and
ethnolinguistic socialization, conscientization, and cultural and linguistic continuity. They
foster a sense of community belonging, empowerment, cultural and linguistic safety, as
well as psychological, social, cultural, and linguistic well-being. They support gathering
between Francophones and Francophiles. They are spaces where identities are
constructed and reconstructed. Findings reveal that Francophones and Francophiles are
seeking opportunities to assert their identity, to be engaged in the development of the
community, and to enhance their collective pride via activities that resonate with their
identity, values, and interests. Above all, findings call for a holistic understanding of
health and well-being, which encompasses cultural and linguistic well-being. They call
for an expanded understanding of how we imagine well-being to include cultural and
ethnolinguistic identity.